Anil Agarwal, the founder and majority-owner of Vedanta Resources, hired former Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese as his chief executive earlier this year. The move was a statement of intent: Mr Agarwal, a controversial but ebullient Indian billionaire, had long talked of transforming his London-listed conglomerate into a global natural resources giant to rival Rio or BHP Billiton.
It was an ambition the American mining veteran seemed well-suited to help deliver. Even so, Mr Agarwal leaves little doubt which of the duo is now in charge. “You need a visionary,” he says of his own role as executive chairman. “Tom has come from Rio, we are very fortunate to have him,” he continues, “but I am looking at the vision and strategy . . . He is going to look after the operations.”
The statement is typical of the mining mogul’s blunt style, honed during a remarkable three-decade rise. Characterised by rapid growth and bold dealmaking, the ascent has seen the former scrap-metal dealer become one of India’s most prominent self-made industrialists. With revenues of $15bn last year, his interests now range from iron ore and copper to oil and gas, with operations crossing Australia and Zambia, as well as his home country.
Sitting in his office in Mumbai, Mr Agarwal sports a sober blue suit, although his bulky frame and shaven head are offset by light grey stubble, giving him a more rough-and-ready look. After growing up in the rural Indian state of Bihar, he cheerfully admits his spoken English remains a work in progress as well, although he makes his points clearly enough.
“Chef is chef,” he says finally of Mr Albanese’s appointment, waving his hands for emphasis. “I am not a chef, I’ve never been a chef. He [Mr Albanese] knows what the flavour is, he knows how to mix things, how to put things together.” The implication is that Mr Agarwal, the charismatic owner, will have the final say on Vedanta’s future growth.
The mining mogul’s investors hope the new recipe will include improved operational performance from a company many say has failed to deliver on the promise of its initial listing in London more than a decade ago. Instead of rapid emerging market-style growth, some analysts and fund managers privately say Mr Agarwal’s heavily-indebted creation remains opaque and unwieldy.
Vedanta has suffered damaging political battles in India as well. An industry-wide mining ban in Goa, now lifted, crippled the group’s iron ore division. A gigantic new aluminium facility in eastern India, in which Vedanta had invested close to $7bn, was also mothballed earlier this year, after a lengthy legal dispute with local tribal people.
The latter case, in particular, badly damaged Vedanta’s image, drawing criticism from environmentalists about aggressive tactics, while reaffirming investor worries over expensive project hold-ups. Mr Agarwal brushes away such worries with a cheerful smile, however, portraying his difficulties as unavoidable in India’s rough-and-tumble business environment.
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